Presents for All
by TsukikoUchu
Summary: Spin off of Jashin's Daughter the Bagu Hime
1. Prologue

After Shikamaru had kissed her in front of all those people, the crowd had slowly broke up and Sakura went back to the Aburame compound with her adopted family, Suzumebachi said that she and her brothers would find elsewhere to stay for the time being of course the minute she had set foot in her home the elders that had gathered stared at her and immediately tried to kick her out of the Aburame family home but Shibi quickly put a stop to that so two weeks after all this had happened Sakura finally dragged herself out of bed to start handing out presents.


	2. Gifts for Shino

The first person she went to see on her long list was Shino, who was in his room knocking on his door Sakura grinned when he gestured her in without looking up from his enlarged bug collection "Shino, I've got some souvenirs for you" Sakura waved the scroll rapidly and getting a half smile from the 16 year old as he sat down on his bed gesturing again for her to do the same "What's the matter cat got your tongue Shino" Sakura snorted in amusement at her little joke and got a small chuckle from Shino in return.

"As a matter of fact, no Sakura the cat does not have my tongue in this instance it would be the wolf that's standing behind you that has my tongue" Shino smirked when Sakura rolled her eyes "Oh before we get started on the gifts, here's your necklace back Shino" Sakura handed over the one thing she had treasured over the years but stared at him in confusion when Shino pushed it back into her hands "It's yours now" Shino explained before falling silent waiting patiently for his little sister to start showing him what she had gotten him.

Unsealing the scroll with a happy laugh a large assortment of items appeared on his bed and Shino grimaced but he figured that everything could be sealed back into the scroll once she had finished "I got this from the sand village it's a type of nectar that attracts all kinds of insects out in the desert" Sakura picked up the package of neatly wrapped jars and handed it over for Shino to inspect before sealing it back in the scroll for safe keeping as she moved onto the next item that she had picked up.

"This is a new bug case for you collection it's jutsu proofed so nothing but accidentally dropping it can break it" Sakura explained grabbing the small box with tempered glass and the lid for it Shino's lips quirked up in amusement he had aptly guessed that Sakura would probably get him all bug related souvenirs and he was right as usual with careful hands he stood and placed the new case in the perfect spot knowing just what kind of bug he was going to put in it before sitting back on the bed waiting for the next.

Smirking Sakura grabbed the next bag "It's a type of bug food a mixture of grass and leaves" Sakura shrugged and let Shino see the bag "The case came from the Cloud Village and this came from the grass village" Sakura smiled when Shino flipped the bag over to read the ingredients and then nodded liking what he saw before allowing Sakura to seal the several bags of food into the scroll next came an antique bug user scroll from the Rain Village of course she had gotten him bug kunai keychains from the little souvenir shop she saw while visiting Mifune.

After that came several other bug related souvenirs until she got to the souvenir she had gotten from Hidan's home village "It's another type of nectar bugs love but they can just drink it straight" she explained once again before grabbing the last two after sealing the packages of new nectar into the scroll once Shino had looked it over "Now these two go hand in hand they came from the Rock and Stone villages respectively but they are essentially the same" Sakura grinned when Shino gave her a smirk and held out his hand.

"These are most interesting Sakura" Shino murmured inspecting the weird packages apparently they were some type of rocks that heated up and cooled down with the insects "I thought you would like them for some of your insects" Sakura smiled sweetly at her brother and pulled him in for a hug once he allowed her to seal what he thought was the last of the souvenirs away in the scroll once she let him go she handed over the scroll and took out another scroll, Shino was thoroughly confused how many souvenirs had Sakura gotten him.

"This is the last, I promise Shino" Sakura bit her lip to prevent the laugh that was threatening to bubble out from between her lips and handed over the new scroll, when he unsealed it he raised an eyebrow and waited for the explanation "It's a insect net" Sakura giggled, the insect net itself was brown and the handle was black with a green beetle and his name inscribed around the rim at the bottom of it was a hole that looked like it could hold something, that something turned out to be the black bayonets laying on his bed.

"If your ever out on a bug hunt, take those with you" Sakura finally explained and Shino nodded applauding her for a well thought out weapon "Where did you get this" Shino wanted to know "I had it crafted by someone in the artisans village" Sakura grinned, reached over gave Shino a quick hug, watched as he sealed the weapons in their scroll, smiled widely at her brother, hopped up from the bed and walked over to the door preparing to leave the room when Shino called out to her from behind, stopping Sakura in her tracks.

"Sakura can we talk please" Shino cleared his throat nervously and Sakura spun around on her heels and sat back down on the bed staring at him curiously "You seem different" Shino started cautiously "Yes" Sakura blinked in confusion but nonetheless waited for whatever it was Shino wanted to talk to her about "First before you get all angry, just know I'm not saying anything bad but what made you want to get the tattoo's and piercings" Shino finally asked and Sakura giggled "Oh Shino sentimental reasons" she explained.

Sakura had actually expected the question sooner or later "Ok so if you got the tattoo's for sentimental reason, then what are the piercings for" Shino was clearly not impressed with the pieces of metal "They are chakra recievers and they allow me to connect my chakra to the one in Midori's ear here" Sakura smiled pointing out Midori's earring "Oh" Shino let out quickly not sure what he had been expecting but that certainly hadn't been it "So where did you get Midori" Shino questioned curiously.

Smirking Sakura let Midori explain "Hello Shino-sama" Midori greeted but Shino didn't even let out sound dipping his head in understanding sometimes animals and others talked but he wouldn't let on how spooky it was to be addressed like that by said animal "Sakura saved me from a shop back in the grass village, I am the last of my kind the snow wolfs and now we have an eternal life bond which makes us companions to each other" Midori peered at Shino with her crystal blue eyes as she told him her story.

"I see that is truly upsetting" Shino bowed his head apologetically before waving Sakura out of his room on her way down the hall Sakura passed by Keiko and quickly handed over a scroll "It's souvenirs from my travels" Sakura explained to the perplexed woman "Thank you Lady Sakura" Keiko gave her a happy smile before hurrying off to continue on her chores she would look at the scroll later, while Sakura continued on down the hall to her adopted fathers office she had things she needed to explain to him before giving him his souvenirs.


	3. The Truth and a Gift for Shibi

Before she knocked on Shibi's office door she took several deep breaths and then bit her lip habitually of course she bit down to hard and it bled so she quickly healed the wound and then knocked lightly on the door wringing her hands together a moment later she heard Shibi call from with in "Come in Sakura" Shibi admitted her in he had been waiting for this moment of course Shino probably talked to her first so he would drill his son later "What's the matter Sakura" he stared at his daughter in concern when she sat down shaking nervously.

"I summoned Rora" Sakura started the conversation with an easy topic but it also lead into a hard topic as well "I'm proud of you my child" Shibi gave the girl a soothing smile "But somehow I don't think that's what has you so nervous" he pointed out in the next moment and Sakura wanted to cry "No, I found out who my real family was" Sakura couldn't hold back the sob she was happy with having living family members but she didn't know how Shibi would react when he found who she really was related to not to mention the whole Jashin business.

"Is that so" Shibi eyed Sakura warily she hadn't cried like this for a long time at least not that he was aware of anyway "Yes" Sakura's breath hitched in her throat this was it she couldn't put the truth off for any longer "My name is Sakura Kamizuru and my mother was Yukina Kamizuru" Sakura clenched her eyes shut in fear "I know Sakura" Shibi's soothing voice came and her green eyes popped open in surprise "What" she asked numbly in shock "I've known for a long time that you were of the Kamizuru clan since the night Rora took you on as her mistress" he explained smoothly.

"Oh" Sakura gasped "I didn't tell anyone because the Kamizuru are looked down on in this clan but I saw that you brought some back into the village with you I assume those are living relatives of yourself" with that statement Sakura nodded swiping away the tears and smile but then she remembered she still had to tell him about her real father "There's just one thing Sakura you've mentioned your mother but what about your father" Shibi inquired inquisitively and Sakura felt as if she would faint.

"Dad you know that I love you right" Sakura let out to start off "Yes, as I have loved you" Shibi peered at her from over the rim of his sunglasses wondering where she was going with this "I have kept a lot of things from you because I was afraid you would abandon me if you knew the truth" Sakura breathed out she would be strong now and get everything out in the open finally "Ok we all have secrets" Shibi pointed out still unsure what Sakura was hinting at "Father I want to show you something" Sakura stood.

Following Sakura curiously down the hall to the training room and then warily watching her seal off the room "When we went and found Lady Tsunade I met Hidan for the first time, I helped him find his lost pendant" Sakura started pulling over two chairs for them to sit in while she talked "A few days later I got curious and asked him about his religion and thus began my induction into Jashinism" she froze when a burst of chakra exploded from Shibi and kikaichu within the man started hissing in agitation.

"You mean to tell me Sakura, that man has you doing the same thing he does" Shibi raged wanting to murder the insipid man for ever corrupting his daughter but then looking at Sakura he instantly calmed down she was still his child nobody could ever take her away from she was still happy and not spewing curse words like Hidan had done not to long ago and she was still somewhat innocent.

"Father, Hidan is my godfather, he was my mother's bestfriend" Sakura stared at Shibi curiously when the kikaichu calmed down immediately "Is that so" Shibi asked in interest this was certainly new and really he couldn't help but wish he had insisted on going with them on that training expedition "And still you haven't mentioned your father" Shibi accused teasingly "I'm getting to that" Sakura huffed out a laugh and motioned for him to sit again once he was seated she started again.

"When Orochimaru that snake" Sakura hissed suddenly angry "Started his attack at the chunin exams, Sasuke and I got separated from the others where Sasuke started facing off against Dosu he was the one I was supposed to fight but I forfeited the match" Sakura looked at Shibi who nodded for her to continue "A sword came out of no where and Sasuke took the hit for me" Sakura sighed suddenly looking much more exhausted than usual.

"It was when he stopped breathing that something inside me snapped, Dosu was my first sacrifice when I came to it wasn't in the real world, I met Jashin the god of slaughter" she rapidly hurried through the next part but Shibi just nodded for her to continue again inside he was a little worried if his little girl was going around sacrificing people how come nobody had said anything yet "That's the thing when I summoned Rora I found out the truth this god of slaughter is my real father" Sakura whispered out.

"How can that be true" Shibi was confused gods didn't exist or did they somewhere deep inside Shibi knew that Sakura spoke the truth but without proof there was no way he could believe that this god existed "Jashin has taught me a way to summon him to this world for 5 minutes at the most so that he can explain to any non believers" Sakura grimaced tapping her fingers nervously on the seat of her chair "Then do that" Shibi gestured for Sakura to summon Jashin as she had called him and she quickly stood.

Going through a long set of handsigns Sakura drew the symbol she needed with her blood wincing when Shibi ground his teeth together and started her the new prayer he had taught her "Oh Mighty Jashin, grace this world with your presence and set all nonbelievers to rights" Sakura poured her chakra into the symbol and quickly took a step back when the entire thing turned black and Jashin started rising out of the newly opened portal a few minutes later Jashin stepped foot in the mortal world for the first time in a millennia.

"Hello Shibi Aburame" Jashin greeted wanting to get this over with but he knew Sakura would need to summon him a lot "Your Jashin" Shibi was frightened at the tall man with piercing red eyes and long white hair "That's right" Jashin smiled dangerously at the mortal man that had taken care of his daughter over the years "I've heard many things about you mortal and all of them are good" Jashin relaxed when Sakura gave him a pleading stare "I must thank you for taking care of my daughter" Jashin gave a small bow.

"She was a joy to raise" Shibi waved off the thanks with a smile "You must understand that Sakura is still half mortal and so I ask of you to continue taking care of her until I can find a way to enter this mortal plane permanently" Jashin bowed again while Sakura stared at him "A new god of slaughter will rise in my place" he assured her and Shibi gave Sakura a fond smile "Of course it will be my pleasure" Shibi held out his hand for Jashin to shake as the immortal god started sinking back into the symbol to return to his garden.

Once he was gone the symbol returned to it's previous state and Sakura hastily cleaned up the blood when she was finished Shibi pulled Sakura into a brief side hug and then gestured for her to unseal the room "Oh wait I have a souvenir for you" Sakura called out when he started down the hall to get back to work "And there is one more thing I have to talk to you about" Sakura grinned cheekily when Shibi let out a groan, of course she still had things to talk to him about it's not as if they hadn't spent the last 1 or so talking.

He let out a chuckle as they entered his office once more "Um well this is kinda about me, I love you and Shino but I feel as if" Sakura trailed off not knowing how to ask for what she wanted "As if you continued to stay here you would be scorned" Shibi finished with a smirk "I have small houses bought for you and Shino whenever the two of you wanted to move out" he explained when Sakura let out a squeal of happiness "Oh thank you dad and here this is your souvenir" Sakura handed over a scroll.

Unsealing it Shibi found a new gourd for his kikaichu it was a larger container than his old one he gave Sakura another fond smile and another brief hug as she rushed out of his office calling over her shoulder "Well I've got lots of other souvenirs to hand out so later" Sakura laughed and shut the door to Shibi's office deciding that she would find Chouji first because his souvenirs would be easier to hand out because they were all food and with that she ran out of the Aburame compound she would find out the location of her house later.


	4. Gifts for Asuma, Chouji, Ibiki and Anko

Walking into town she found Chouji along with Asuma entering a barbeque restaurant "Hey may I join you I'll pay for Chouji" Sakura offered and Asuma instantly agreed to let her join "Sakura what brings you out this way" Chouji started up the conversation once they had sat down and ordered their food "Well after this I've got some gifts for the both of you" Sakura gave both males a bright smile "Oh that's interesting, I didn't know you'd be bringing back souvenirs for everyone" Asuma smirked lighting up a cigarette and taking a long drag of it.

"Of course" Sakura smiled cheekily poking fun at the older male "Well are we going to eat or not" she smiled and quickly swiped a few pieces of meat and started frying them on the grill, when they were browned to perfection she used her chopsticks and ate them with a sigh Chouji doing the same once they were finished with the first order Chouji ordered another and another and even more after that until he was satisfied with the amount he had eaten and Sakura payed for herself and Chouji while Asuma payed for himself.

"Alright so the benches over there are alright to hand out the souvenirs" Chouji was most notably excited "Of course Chouji" Sakura gave him another smile before all three of them crossed the street "So this is for you Asume-san" Sakura handed over a scroll much to his confusion "You have to unseal the items from within" she explained when he frowned "I see" Asuma nodded in understanding and then immediately unsealed the gifts from within the storage scroll.

There weren't as many items like she had given Shino, but Sakura hoped that the souvenirs would be to his liking "Are those flavored cigars and cigarettes and are those new knuckle blades" Asuma whistled in awe seeing the blue tempered metal of the blades and held them up for inspection "Go ahead channel your chakra into them" Sakura motioned for him to try them out "After we passed through the artisan village, I sent Touga a letter and asked him to make some custom made weapons" Sakura grinned widely.

"These are custom made" Asuma stared at her, he hadn't thought that he would ever get something like this from a kid but here the blades were and they were absolutely gorgeous he couldn't wait to try them out in battle "Thank you Sakura" he dipped his head before picking up the cigars and cigarettes before lighting one up and savoring the flavor before releasing the smoke with that Sakura turned to Chouji and handed over the scroll smiling she couldn't wait to see Chouji's reaction to his gift.

"So I just push my chakra into this seal and unseal it" Chouji questioned in slight confusion looking at Sakura for confirmation and getting a nod he follows the directions and stares in awe at the many different kinds of chips "These are chips from every single village and place Hidan and I visited and of course there are these" Sakura held up two small cases and opened up the sliding lid "These are custom made chopsticks one you can use for eating and the other is for assination missions" Sakura explained showing off the second pair.

"I'm not sure if you'll ever be sent on one but you can never be to careful and come prepared for anything so if you ever get in that type of situation just take these with you and give them to someone to use" Sakura grinned she wanted to protect all of her friends and this is the way to do it "And what" Chouji was curious when she held up a case of vials filled with green liquid "You pour this poison into the chopsticks by removing the caps and when someone uses them poison gets on their tongue and they are none the wiser" Sakura finished.

"That's pretty ingenious" Chouji smiled widely "Wait um if you ever happen to forget which pair of chopsticks has the poison in them, use this antidote" Sakura held up an even larger case of purple vials filled with said antidote "And if you run out just ask me and I'll make you some more, I have the recipe for them" Sakura explained once again "You made this" Chouji held up a vial of purple liquid he really didn't want to handle the poison one not yet at least "Yeah uh Touga from artisan village sent me a recipe I just changed it a little to make it my own" Sakura smiled.

What none of the people she had already given souvenirs to knew was that everytime they used the custom made weapons or gourd it would give them a little extra protection once she had gotten each weapon Touga had instructed her in each note to pour her chakra into them and it would give them a little more defense because her chakra would lash out and add a lethal effect to who ever was fool enough to mess with her loved ones it was a simple and effective way to protect everyone when they went out on mission without spilling all of her secrets.

Smiling brightly at the two she bids them farewell once she had spotted another person she had souvenirs to give too "Anko-sensei" Sakura called out stopping the purple haired woman in her tracks "Pinky is that you" Anko blinked warily at the slightly taller girl "Of course who else would it be sensei" Sakura grinned cheekily at the woman only to receive a whack over the head "Only you would purposely antagonize me like that" Anko rolled her brown eyes in exasperation "It's been mighty lonely without you and the knucklehead" she admitted in the next breath.

"Sorry if it helps we can go get dango and tea, I have some souvenirs for you" Sakura smiled innocently at Anko who shakes her head but leads her into her favorite tea shop "It's just because I was heading here already" Anko ruffles Sakura's long pink hair that had finally grown out to its former length, inside Ibiki sat at one of the tables and Sakura let out a laugh as the two females sat at the table "It's been a long time Sakura" Ibiki stared at the now 16 year old "Yes it has Ibiki" Sakura nodded at Ibiki and pulled out two storage scrolls.

"Like I said I have souvenirs for you Anko but I also have some for souvenirs for you Ibiki" Sakura grinned and handed over the two scrolls "Uh what could you have possibly gotten me pinky" Anko frowned she hadn't expected to get gifts from one of her students "You'll just have to open them" Sakura gave them a look that conveyed everything Ibiki needed to know and so he swiftly unsealed the scroll staring in awe at the list of contacts and things he needed to conduct new interrogation and torture sessions.

"The contacts is from my network I set up while travelling around to each village anything you need to know about someone from another country just send one of them a message and they will get back to you within the week and the tools are custom made for you take with you out on missions" Sakura grinned giving herself a pat on the back when the scarred man nods in thanks "These are amazing where did you get them from" Ibiki held up one of the tools "Touga from the artisan village he custom made each one" Sakura shrugged sheepishly.

Anko seeing her chance to open her scroll because it would be hard for Sakura to explain multiple things at once quickly unseals the scroll and waits for Sakura to start her explanations when Anko held up a decayed looking scroll "I found that in a little antique shop back in Moon Village it's a different snake summons scroll I thought it would be perfect for you" Sakura explained when Anko unrolled it to scan the contents before whistling in awe "This things never been used" Anko looked at the empty slots for names.

"And those are custom made kunai's and senbon needles along with new pouches" Sakura pointed out the the purple tinted kunai's and senbon needles and the pouches that had Anko's name engraved into each along with a snake as the defining mark "Thank you Sakura these are very nice" Anko nodded giving the girl a hug before digging into her dango Sakura grabbed a couple of sticks and drained her tea quickly "Well I have other people to see so later" Sakura waved and left the tea shop.


	5. A Seal for Kakuzu

The minute Sakura had exited the shop she spotted Kakuzu and with a smile she hoped to convince him to get part of his souvenir of course she would pay for it "Brat" Kakuzu gruffed out placing a hand atop her head "I've got some souvenirs for you" Sakura grinned cheekily and pulled out a scroll while they had been travelling Hidan had showed her how to collect bounties and then showed her where to go to cash in on said bounties and so Sakura had saved up that money to repay Kakuzu for his odd kindness.

"One thing though for a part of your souvenir to work you have to get a tattoo" Sakura winced when Kakuzu immediately removed his hand "I'm not saying you'll have to pay for it but I worked on some tattoo seal designs and it would be perfect for you" Sakura announced sheepishly "If you think it would help with whatever you've thought up then lets go to the tattoo shop" Kakuzu answered roughly and allowed Sakura to lead him towards the small shop in the middle of town "What can I do for you" the woman inside the shop asked not looking up.

"Yes I'd like to get a tattoo seal for Kakuzu here" Sakura smiled sweetly at the woman when she jerked her head up "What kind of seal are you talking about" the woman held back a shiver of fear as she looked the older man up and down, what the hell was the girl thinking being friends with a guy like this "Well it's a storage seal, and it will look something like this" Sakura handed over a carefully draw seal "Of course it works" Sakura anticipated the next question she had practiced the damn thing until it was 100 percent fool proof.

"And Kakuzu-san where would you like this at" the woman asked the green eyed man holding her breath as he leaned down to Sakura's level "Where did you want me to put it at brat" Kakuzu was more interested than he let on about this tattoo seal but he figured if Sakura was willing to pay for it then he could allow the girl to choose "Well that's more up to you Kakuzu" Sakura gave him a happy but sheepish smile "You choose brat" Kakuzu handed the reigns of command over to her and she immediately chose a spot he wouldn't have picked.

It was behind his left shoulder blade and her reasoning wasn't quite what he had expected "That way unless you somehow destroy all of your clothes in a fight it won't be easily spotted and no one would be none the wiser about it" Sakura gave him a smirk when he looked down at her clearly baffled "Didn't know you had it in you to be sneaky brat" Kakuzu ruffled her long pink locks affectionately "Well I picked up on a lot of tricks while Hidan and I were gone" Sakura smiled and then together they turned back to the woman.

Once she had stated the price Sakura quickly handed over the money and Kakuzu was led into the back room to be prepped for the tattoo almost an hour later the two left the shop and Kakuzu was quick to head off "Uh Kakuzu, I still have a couple of things to give to you" Sakura spoke up from his side when he realized she was still following him "Come on brat" Kakuzu gestured over to some benches and they sat down where Sakura pulled out a couple of scrolls and handed them over.

Sighing Kakuzu opened the first one only to stare in surprise "I like the way you think brat" he let out a deep chuckle causing some people nearby to trip over their feet and throw them fearful glances the first scroll he had unsealed just had to be full of money "There's exactly 20,125 ryo, counted it myself" Sakura stated proudly glad that she even remembered after the long months of travel "Hidan showed me how to cash in on some bounties that we took down together" Sakura explained a moment later.

Kakuzu had to give Hidan credit where it was due it seemed taking care of the girl had certainly taught him a lot of things and he really hadn't known that the silver haired man was paying any attention whenever he had hunted down bounties but he would never tell Hidan that obviously "Uh so the the second scroll has a few things in it" Sakura started fidgeting with her white skirt twisting her fingers nervously in the material several times and biting her lip she really hoped Kakuzu wouldn't get angry with her about one of the items.

Narrowing his eyes subtly at Sakura when she started shifting Kakuzu opened up the scroll and looked up in surprise "You've been to waterfall" to say he was uncomfortable wasn't exactly the word he would use but Kakuzu was so used to being unaffected by things that this most certainly came as a surprise to him it was artefacts he had collected a long time ago he thought he had lost them but apparently his old village had kept them for whatever reason he was glad they had but he still would never go back to visit.

"Yeah made a friend there" Sakura let out a large sigh of relief before gesturing to the weapon and scrolls "Those are elemental jutsu scrolls some of them are pretty interesting because I know you use all five elements I figured those would be great for you" Sakura watched Kakuzu pick up one of the scrolls and study it before unrolling it his eyes moved back and forth over the contents before allowing another chuckle Kakuzu hadn't thought the brat knew him as well as she quite obviously did or Hidan was talking about him behind his back.

He didn't dwell though because Sakura was more perceptive than he gave her credit for "Ok brat whats up with the weapon" Kakuzu was extremely curious about the oddly shaped weapon "Well it's like your thread with a more protective quality to it" Sakura admitted, Kakuzu would have seen straight through her either way and so saw no point in hiding the truth "If an enemy gets to close it will lash out and go straight for any vital organs" she explained "Just put it in with your other thread and bam your opponent will never no what hit them" Sakura laughed.

"One more thing" Sakura handed over a scroll "It's the handsigns to the seal on your back just press a little chakra into it and poof all of your money is sealed safely away from prying eyes and thiefing hands" she grinned when Kakuzu shook his head "Of course it would have to be for money" Kakuzu chuckled deeply again "Well you can use it for anything" Sakura admitted and Kakuzu patted her head "Do you know where Sasori-san is at" she asked before he got to far "Training field" he called back and then disappeared around the corner


	6. A Puppet for Sasori and Wraps for Kisame

Looking around the training field, Sakura spotted to blurring figures in the distance 'Of course they have to be that far in' she thought in frustration, Sakura had checked nearly every single training field the Leaf had and it had taken her a couple of hours but she wouldn't complain to these two out loud when she stopped at the sidelines Sasori and Kisame stopped their spar and turned to stare at her in confusion "Didn't know you were back pinky" Kisame started immediately and walked over to her, his beloved shark skin slung over his shoulder with ease.

"Were you guys out on a mission" Sakura asked forehead creased in thought "Yes" Sasori raised an eyebrow impatiently "I've been back two weeks" she gave the two men a grin before turning to Sasori and holding out a scroll "Spar with me Sasori-san" Sakura asked promptly while he took the scroll and eyed it curiously "Whatever kid" Sasori was tempted to roll his eyes but he figured he could oblige the kid and teach her why she should never ask someone to spar with her that she hadn't never trained with before.

Kisame was curious why had the girl showed up and asked Sasori specifically to spar with her but he figured he could watch her get knocked out clear to next week "I know about your impatients Sasori-san so let's just get started" Sakura stated simply and Sasori stared at her warily without much more thought the spar started it was clear that Sasori was already winning Kisame thought watching the two closely but then Sakura pulled out a scroll and unsealed it knocking both men off guard.

"I'm sure you know what this is Sasori" Sakura smiled she had successfully distracted Sasori with her move and sent the puppet racing forward with her chakra strings "Aren't you going to open your souvenir" Sakura asked in the middle of the fight, she had perfected the art of talking in the middle of a spar and could do so without breaking her concentration, Sasori indulged Sakura by opening the scroll only to find it was another puppet of course it wasn't of human quality but he would take what he could get nowadays.

"I had her crafted in the artisan village" Sakura smirked "Why" Sasori stared at her from across the field "Because I found a love of puppets in the sand village" Sakura gave her tiny puppet a smile before sealing him back into his scroll and stored it with the other 4 she had "I figured you would appreciate her, I know she isn't like your other puppets" Sakura explained while she had been training Chiyo had come and talked to her about her grandson of course she had immediately figured out that it was Sasori but she had never told Chiyo that she knew.

"You said you had her crafted in the artisan village" Sasori asked again and Sakura nodded "I know a craftsman and we set up a deal between each other so long as he got credit and payment where it was due he would continue crafting weapons and puppets as my personal contact" Sakura giggled when Sasori shook his head a smirk on his lips "You've definitely surprised me" Sasori admitted staring at the puppet fondly and then carefully sealed her back in the scroll again.

"She's full of weapons but you'll have to figure out what she can do on your own" Sakura gave him a look and he nodded with understanding a ninja never revealed their secrets and watched as Sakura turned to Kisame, Sasori chuckled softly when he realized he wasn't the only person getting a souvenir "These wraps are for shark skin" Sakura held out the scroll "Of course they were crafted in the artisan village" Sakura smiled widely when Kisame gave her a wary glance but hesitantly unsealed the scroll.

"Blue wraps" Kisame rolled his eyes how was he supposed to use these "Special blue wraps if someone ever decided to be fool enough to try and take shark skin, which is fool enough right there because unless they had powerful chakra it wouldn't be that easy anyway but those wraps will prevent that from happening as well" Sakura tried to explain but apparently it only confused Kisame even more "I'm saying those wraps infused with chakra will prevent anyone but yourself from ever touching shark skin" she gave him an exasperated sigh.

"Oh" Kisame gave a little chuckle when he realized that no one would ever touch his beloved shark skin again essentially the wraps would bind the sword to him even further "Well thanks pinky" he figured she was done talking "I'm not done Kisame-san" Sakura smiled and took a deep breath she wanted to test how much Kisame trusted her by allowing her to wrap shark skin "May I place the new wraps" she held the next breath and waited for his answer "Ahaha your funny pinky" Kisame full on laughed now.

"You think your tough enough to handle shark skin, be my guest" Kisame smiled showing off his pointy teeth and propped the sword up against a tree for easy access and motioned for Sakura to come forward, when she was close enough shark skin started shifting underneath the white wraps and Kisame chuckled knowing what was about to happen as Sakura placed her hand on the sword and winced as it rejected her but then something amazing happened shark skin stilled and allowed her to replace it's wraps without much fuss.

"What the hell did you do" Kisame blinked warily he was hesitant to touch his sword again because he didn't know what would happen "I don't know what you mean" Sakura smiled remaining calm 'of course I know exactly what he means but there's no need to tell him that' she didn't want to let Kisame know that she had shared some of her chakra with shark skin to give it an extra boost of protection she also knew that if she didn't stay calm Kisame would figure out she was lying.

Eyeing her, Kisame tried to figure out if Sakura was being truthful, he narrowed his eyes and stared at her before deciding that maybe she really didn't know what had happened and reached over and picked shark skin up "Alright so maybe next time we can spar for real" Sakura hopped up and disappeared without another word, she headed off to find the next person she had souvenirs for she was passing by the flower shop, Sakura nodded and headed in.


	7. Flowers and Haircuts for Ino

"Sakura" Ino jumped out from behind the counter, her long silky blonde hair trailing behind her in waves "Hello Ino" Sakura gave the girl a smile and waited for the hug she knew was coming and sure enough Ino wrapped her arms around Sakura's shoulders and gave her a light hug "So what brings you into the flower shop today" Ino chattered on "Well I brought back some souvenirs for you" Sakura smiled when Ino let out a loud squeal which caused Inoichi to poke his head out from the back room and ask what was going on.

He spotted the reason a moment later, gave Sakura a small wave, flashed her a quick smile then disappeared again "May we sit" Sakura prodded gently when Ino stood there and bounced up and down excitedly "Absolutely" Ino nodded rapidly, took off her apron, folded it and then called out that they were going upstairs to her room, grabbed Sakura by the hand and dragged her quickly up the steps and into said room "Ok so what did you get me" Ino plopped down gracefully on her bed.

"Well it's multiple items" Sakura started out with a soft groan but her smile let Ino know that she was just teasing "You know how to use storage scrolls right" Sakura asked and Ino nodded, with that Sakura handed over the scroll she had sealed the gifts in and Ino quickly unsealed the scroll, gasping in awe at the assortment of items that littered her bed afterwards "Why so much" Ino hadn't thought Sakura would get her so much "There's something from every village I visited" Sakura explained.

"So what's this" Ino held up a book that had weird lettering on it "It's a pressed flower collection, it has a flower from all the different countries and villages" Sakura smiled when Ino immediately flipped open the book and looked over the many different flowers that had been carefully pressed along with the name of each flower and the many different properties and uses it had "Wow this is pretty dang amazing Sakura" Ino was so into the book that she missed Sakura picking up something else.

"That's not all Ino" Sakura stifled her laughter when Ino's head snapped up in confusion "Well there are these" Sakura held up a stack of books tied with a red ribbon "And what are those" Ino asked even more confused "Well if you ever find yourself stuck in an unknown area and needed to pick some herbs or flowers that have healing properties these books will tell you what to look for" Sakura smiled and handed over the books for Ino to look over a few minutes later Ino looked up once more waiting for the next item.

"This is the last" Sakura held out the assortment of weapons and another book "Another book" Ino raised a blonde eyebrow in exasperation "It will help you with that hair of yours, Ino you got to admit that if anyone got a hold of your hair during a fight that would pretty much be it" Sakura just had to explain and Ino nodded taking the advice easily, the blonde really had grown up in the last couple of years "Wow it's so pretty" Ino gasped in awe when she caught sight of the weapon, it was a dagger.

The blade itself was the color of her blonde hair, while the hilt of the dagger was the shade of her eyes, around the hilt was her name etched in pale pink and a cosmos flower as the signature mark, the case to the dagger was an off white color with her name and the flower engraved into it and then the pouch for the weapon was a solid black with her initials and the cosmos once again "Where did you get it" Ino truly wanted to know where Sakura had gotten the weapon because it certainly was a work of art.

"I know someone from the artisans village and we have a deal made between us" Sakura explained simply, smiling wide when Ino gazed at her in admiration "Hey Ino maybe we can go shopping together sometime, I've been in dire need of new clothes these past couple of weeks all the ones I got a few years ago are getting a little to small" Sakura let out an embarrassed cough when Ino looked her over "Absolutely Sakura" Ino smirked it would give her time to really get to know the pinkette.

Sakura had just turned to leave so she could find the next person that she had gifts for when Ino called out to her, this being the second time someone had stopped her from leaving the room "Wait Sakura, I have a question" Ino wrung her hands together nervously when Sakura peered at her with her emerald green eyes "What is it Ino" Sakura was slightly confused never before had she seen the blonde girl this nervous about anything "Well remember when we were in the rain village" Ino started and Sakura nodded.

"You asked me what happened to my hair" Sakura remembered well "How hard was it for you to cut your hair" Ino blurted out and Sakura blinked "I was to angry to realize what I had done when I cut my hair but afterwards I felt a little better, I actually couldn't wait for my hair to grow out again" Sakura smiled sheepishly and then stared at Ino when the girl took a deep breath "Well I've been talking to my parents and I've decided to cut my hair, I was wondering if you'd help me out with that" Ino smiled nervously eyeing her long blonde hair.

"Oh Ino that's really brave of you" Sakura was proud of her friend and skipped back over to Ino's bed "I'm terrified of losing it" Ino admitted in embarrassment "Tell you what Ino once it's cut I can turn it into a weapon for you to use" Sakura offered and Ino turned around on her bed quickly "You can really do that" Ino asked all the fear she held over cutting her hair was pronounced clearly in her pale blue eyes "Yep, just have to send a letter to my friend in the artisans village" Sakura nodded smiling reassuringly at Ino.

"Ok I think I'm ready" Ino turned back around trembling with trepidation as Sakura raised a regular kunai to her hair "How short do you want it Ino" Sakura asked and Ino raised her hand and gestured at her shoulder blades "That's not to bad" Sakura announced it was a bit longer than what she had cut her hair at before, and then quickly swiped the kunai through Ino's blonde hair after gathering it in her spare hand "Oh" Ino let out a gasp feeling the weight of her hair lessening.

"Feels good doesn't it" Sakura giggled and Ino let out a giggle of her own "Yes, it does" Ino smiled and ran her hand through her now shoulder blade length hair it just so happened to be the moment Inoichi chose that moment to knock on the door and enter Ino's room "So you cut your hair" he wasn't surprised, Ino had been talking about getting her hair cut for months once she had returned with her team from the Hidden Rain Village, when he found out the reason why Ino had simply stated that if Sakura could do it, then so could she.

Inoichi had smiled and nothing more had been said about the subject "Yes dad, Sakura cut it for me and it feels so nice" Ino was happy at least she didn't have to worry about it being grabbed by enemy hands now, even though she had a feeling it would annoy her now that it was at a much shorter length again "Don't worry Ino, there are ways to prevent it from getting in your way" Sakura put her worries to rest when Ino wouldn't stop running her hands through her hair and tugging on the strands.

Once Inoichi had left, Sakura gathered the cut hair tied one end, handed it over to Ino and promptly braided the locks, before pulling out an extra scroll and sealing the hair into it "I'll write a letter to my friend in the artisans village later and send this to him" Sakura explained when Ino looked at her in confusion "Oh I see" Ino nodded in understanding and then stared at her shortened hair sadly she hadn't thought it would be this hard now that it was cut but it was proving to be difficult now that her long hair was gone.

Sakura had seen this and let out a long sigh internally sulking at what she was about to do, and quickly raised her kunai the same one she had used to cut Ino's hair gathered up a decent amount so that hers would be the same length as Ino's and slashed through her hair before trimming her bangs so they wouldn't be so long, once she had thrown away the pink and silver hair Ino finally spoke up "Why did you do that, I thought you said you were never cutting your hair again" Ino had watched in confusion as Sakura cut her hair.

"Well this way at least you aren't going through this on your own and you have someone to relate to" Sakura smiled sheepishly when Ino started giggling "Thank you Sakura" Ino gave her a happy smile and then watched warily as Sakura's previously cut bangs once again turned silver "Why did they do that" Ino was quick to ask "My religion" Sakura answered vaguely and Ino dropped that line of questioning instantly before waving Sakura out of her room as she headed off to find someone else to give souvenirs to trying her hardest not to mess with her hair.


	8. Shogi and Frying Pans for the Nara's

Veering to the left Sakura walked down the well worn path to the Nara compound, she hadn't seen Shikamaru for a couple of weeks not since he had kissed her in front of all those people and plus she had souvenirs for her future in laws, on the other hand she wanted to see her ferret, Sasuke because she had a few presents for him when she got close to the house the sliding door slid open and Shikamaru trudged out, he instantly perked up when he noticed her though because he sped up.

When Shikamaru reached her, he leaned down pressed his lips to hers and wrapped his arms around her waist once again, Sakura let out a content sigh, feeling snug in his arms "I missed you" Shikamaru rubbed his cheek against hers briefly before pulling away "Baka why didn't you come visit me at home" Sakura rolled her eyes "Too lazy" Shikamaru teased leaping away from her when she gave him a glare "Shikamaru, have you done as I asked you yet..ooh" Yoshino stepped through the door and found the reason for the hold up.

"Sakura-chan what a lovely surprise" Yoshino smiled sweetly at the girl and motioned for Sakura to follow her into the compound, while Shikamaru went to the market to buy some groceries at his mothers request, upon entering the living room Sakura found Shikaku lounging on the couch, Sasuke was wrapped around his shoulders "Hello Sakura" Shikaku gave her a lazy wave as Yoshino went back into the kitchen "Hello Shikaku-san" Sakura flashed him a smile and sat in the arm chair the minute she sat down Sasuke jumped into her lap dooking happily.

"Did you miss me" Sakura laughed softly as the ferret curled up in her lap "I would say so" she huffed a minute later "I've got something for you" Sakura smiled at the ferret when he stretched and looked up at her as she pulled out a scroll and unsealed it, it was a white color with his name inscribed on it in green and blue lightning bolts at the beginning and end of his name, of course she had other things for him but those could wait until she saw her house and set everything up exactly the way she wanted.

It was only 10 minutes later that Shikamaru entered the house carrying a few bags, he gave Sakura a quick wave before walking into the kitchen a moment later he exited and walked over to sit next to Sakura as she had moved from the arm chair to the loveseat "Hello" Shikamaru whispered twining their fingers together once he had sat "Hi" Sakura smiled happily and rested her head on Shikamaru's shoulder as Sasuke snoozed on her lap, she couldn't wait to go on a date with him.

Half an hour later, Yoshino called out from within the kitchen that lunch was ready, Sakura shifted Sasuke into her arms and stood giggling as he raced up her arm to curl around her neck now that his owner was home he didn't want to be parted from her again Shikamaru for his part only chuckled softly as he led her into the kitchen, Shikaku following behind a few moments later as the four sat down at the table, it was only when Yoshino sat a plate in front of Sakura that she realized Sasuke was still curled around Sakura's neck.

"Sasuke go lay on your pillow" Yoshino ordered and the ferret let out a unhappy whine but nonetheless did what his caretaker had ordered and slowly uncurled himself from around Sakura's neck scampered down the chair and with a soft hiss scurried over to his cushion, Sakura couldn't help laugh because even though the ferret had been extremely reluctant he proved that he knew how to follow commands to an extent, nodding Yoshino promises to give the ferret a treat before Sakura took him home with her.

She wouldn't admit it, but it would be hard not getting used to having the animal around, Yoshino had known that at some point Sakura would return for him but she would save those thoughts for a later time as she sat down at the table and gestured for the others to begin eating "So what brings you over Sakura" Yoshino was curious, surely this had to be about Sasuke and again her thoughts drift towards the ferret "Well three things actually" Sakura smiled after swallowing her food.

Once the food had been devoured, Sasuke climbed up Sakura once again and curled around her neck once more as the four moved back into the living "Ok so you said three things" Shikaku was curious and eyeing his wife he knew that one of those reasons had to involve Sasuke and he groaned internally "Yes, one was to visit all of you, two I have some gifts for the three of you, and the third reason was to get Sasuke" Sakura admitted and Yoshino sat down on the couch next to her husband with a sigh.

Seeing this Sakura internally grimaced, she had expected this to some extent, but she also knew exactly what to do to fix this problem "I see" Shikaku stroked his beard in thought as she pulled out three scrolls and handed them over to each of them, Shikamaru and Yoshino decided to let Shikaku go first so with a sigh he quickly unsealed the scroll only to stare in surprise "I've been practicing shogi" Sakura grinned "It's a custom made shogi board along with the pieces, found it in a shop back in the star village" Sakura explained when Shikaku examined it further.

When Shikaku sealed the board back in its scroll for a later time, Yoshino took her cue to open her scroll only to blink and then start laughing softly "Interesting gift Sakura" Yoshino teased, the girl had gifted her with all kinds of pots and pans and cooking utensils, there was one particular frying pan that Yoshino was curious about, it obviously wasn't a regular frying pan and so she looked up to Sakura once more and waited for her to explain "You can use it as a weapon" Sakura smiled when her announcement generated another round of chuckles and laughter.

Once Yoshino had resealed everything the three turned eyes onto Shikamaru, who took his turn and unsealed the scroll only to laugh "Of course you got me this" Shikamaru had once joked that he wished he had a shield so that he could hide behind it and that's what Sakura had gotten him along with a new set of kunai in dark blue "It's only because I want you to be safe" Sakura smiled fondly at him while Yoshino let out a loud aww at the cuteness "Thanks Sakura" Shikamaru sealed his gift back in the scroll and then relaxed back into the couch.

"Well thank you for the gifts Sakura" Yoshino smiled kindly at her and Sakura gave her a content smile in return before leaning back into Shikamaru with a sigh "I don't want to move" Sakura admitted a moment later feeling exhausted all of the sudden "I'll go gather Sasuke's things" Yoshino stood eyeing the ferret fondly before exiting the room, Sakura stared down at Sasuke before rushing after her "Wait Yoshino-san" Sakura called out to the woman who paused and waited patiently.

"I still have a lot of things to do before I'm ready to take back Sasuke so could you watch him for me for a few more days" Sakura asked "Of course" Yoshino smiled pleasantly at Sakura, secretly she was glad that Sakura was giving her a few more days with the ferret she had become attached to over the 3 years the girl had been gone "Here" Sakura giggled softly when Sasuke gave an unhappy sound but jumped into Yoshino's arms when the other female held them out for him to do so.

Once he had transfered he eyed his owner and gave her a soft hiss before snuggling into Yoshino's arms "I'll see you later, have lots more gifts to hand out" Sakura gave her a smile, waved to the two men in the living room and exited the house, the next people she wanted to see were probably training with their sensei and so she once again headed towards the training field where she found team gai training like she had thought "Hey Sakura" Tenten was the first to spot her the rest quickly followed.


	9. Gifts for Team Gai and Sparring Session

"Hey Tenten" Sakura gave a small wave as the other three on Team Gai rushed over "Aburame-san" Neji greeted "Call me Sakura" Sakura corrected and Neji nodded "Sakura-san" he reiterated looking severely confused when she shook her head "We're all friends here stop with the suffixes" Sakura explained and Neji's lavender irises lit up with understanding "Of course" his lips twitched up in a brief smile before his face relaxed into the normal stoic expression as the other two males on his team greeted the female.

"The flames of youth burn bright in you" Gai laughed loudly and patted Sakura roughly on the back it was only thanks to all the training she had been given, that she stayed standing once Gai stopped "Thank you Gai-san" Sakura mumbled "Do you think you guys could take a break for a little bit" she asked a moment later and Gai nodded before gesturing for everyone to sit as Sakura pulled out multiple scrolls and handed two over to each person "What are these for" Lee was the first to ask and Sakura smiled.

"Those scrolls are filled with souvenirs I picked up from each of the villages I visited with Hidan, the second scrolls holds either a custom made weapon or outfit" she grinned when Lee immediately handed over the scroll to Sakura so that she could unseal them for him, she had forgotten that Lee couldn't use chakra, she had to find a better way to seal things without having to use chakra "I'm sorry Lee, I forgot that you couldn't" but first Sakura had to apologize to the boy who quickly waved the apology off.

Sakura quickly unsealed the scroll for Lee, who immediately started crying rivers of tears in obvious happiness the scroll Lee had handed over was the one with the custom made outfit it was a new body suit only it was a dark green and dark green bandages wraps "Thank you" Lee leaned over to give Sakura a hug when he was quickly whacked over the head by Tenten "Did you just so happen to forget that Sakura is in an arranged marriage" the brunette huffed when Lee stared at her sniffling and crying more.

"It's ok Tenten" Sakura winced and immediately healed the lump on Lee's head and gave him a side hug before unsealing the other scroll for him which was full of exercise equipment and some treats "Thank you truly" Lee started crying again before gesturing for the next person to go which just so happened to be Gai who got pretty much the same things with a few different things and then Tenten went and she happily opened up the scroll only to laugh in delight "Really how did you know" the older girl teased and Sakura just smiled.

The scroll had been filled with weapons and another scroll from every single village she had visited when she tried opening the second scroll it wouldn't open "It's empty Tenten you have to put all the weapons into the scroll it's a weapons scroll made specifically for you" Sakura explained when Tenten stared at her for an explanation "Oh" Tenten murmured sheepishly but sealed all of the weapons in the scroll and stared in awe as her name was burned into the parchment "No one can use it but you" Sakura smiled again.

"Alright your turn Neji" everyone turned on the only person left and he let out a sigh before unsealing his scrolls, Neji's eyes went wide at the amount of chocolate "I heard about your favorite treat from Hinata and while we were in the star village I picked up some" Sakura shrugged when he eyed her, the other scroll had a weapon it a kusarigama the whole thing was brown and had his initials engraved on it along with the hyuuga clan symbol "I must thank you" Neji nodded his head in thanks and Sakura waved it off.

"It was nothing" Sakura smiled once again feeling as if her face would fall off because of how much she had smiled that day, it was like the chunin exams all over again when Naruto and her had to escort teams into the village all day long and to their hotels, she looked back on that day fondly though because that was the first day she had met Gaara and the others "Well I'm going to head home so later" Sakura noticed that the sun had gone way down and figured she could hand out the rest of the souvenirs tomorrow.

"See you Sakura" Lee and Gai waved her off while Tenten called out to her "We should hang out sometime" Sakura grinned back at the brunette but nodded before continuing on her way once she reached the Aburame compound, Sakura got looks of disgust from a few elders that were littering about in the halls but she ignored them and up the stairs to her room she wasn't feeling very hungry so she decided to see if Shino was up for a training session and then she figured later she would take a shower before going to sleep.

When she reached the top of the stairs she turned right and knocked on Shino's door, he opened it a few moments later "Was there something you needed" Shino asked eyebrow raised high when Sakura smiled at him and then grimaced and rubbed her face "Was wondering if you'd like to train with me for a bit" Sakura grinned sheepishly at him "Haven't you had enough of training" Shino asked rhetorically but followed her down to the training room anyways he felt out of practice anyway and Sakura had just given him the excuse he needed not to be lazy.

Once they entered the room Sakura turned to him and with a mischievous twinkle in her green eyes and promptly disappeared and Shino cursed softly that was her favorite trick to use, Shino knew what was coming next as a breeze blew by him and he spun to the right dodging the punch Sakura had most likely aimed at his shoulder a moment later he ducked down when her heard the whizzing sound of a shuriken sure enough a dark green shuriken flew over his head and he quickly righted himself.

He waited and then waited some a few minutes later he was getting a little frustrated usually when Sakura couldn't hit her targets she reappeared but what he didn't know was that his frustration was exactly what she had been waiting for, Sakura had learned patience and started a whole new level of attacks suddenly it was Shino who couldn't keep up because everytime he dodged one way an attack came from the other when the heck had she learned to move so fast his eyes widened behind his sunglasses as he was knocked clear on his back.

The move had knocked him all the way to the other side of the room as he skidded across the floor on his back, that's when Sakura appeared smirking triumphantly "I've won Shino" Sakura pumped her fist when he stood and brushed himself off "I guess training with an ex akatsuki member does have perks after all" he huffed sulkily it was something else that his sister was good at, Shino was glad that he was the next in line to the Aburame clan, not that he was saying anything bad about Sakura.

It was just that he didn't want Sakura to have to shoulder any more responsibilities and if she had to take on a clan then it would add to the responsibilities she already had, the whole spar had taken maybe 30 minutes at best but both teens were most notably hungry now so together they left the training room and headed down the hall to the dining room once they had eaten Sakura went up the stairs took a shower and headed into her room and plopped gracelessly into her bed the moment her head touched her pillow she was snoring softly.


	10. Half Way Finished

The next morning Sakura was woken by a loud knock on her door, so she threw her covers to the side and padded across her floor barefoot and opened it with a grumble, Keiko stared at her in amusement "I'm terribly sorry Lady Sakura, but the hokage has called for you" Keiko stated the reason she was there "And thank you for the gifts they are rather lovely" Keiko grinned when Sakura gave her a small smile and then shut her door a few minutes later she exited dressed in her clothes that looked a little to tight to be comfortable.

Sakura chose to skip breakfast and headed out the doors ignoring the sneers and muttered comments, 'geez it's like being a little kid all over again' she thought to herself as she headed down the streets to the Hokage tower, when she entered the building she was immediately showed into the office where Tsunade, Shizune and Itachi sat, Sakura was wary when she sat next to Itachi in the only remaining chair, Tsunade picked up on her nervousness with an ease Sakura hadn't expected from the older blonde.

"Relax Sakura" Tsunade grinned at her from behind her desk "So I've heard from several people that you brought back souvenirs, would you have happened to get us any" Tsunade asked excitedly and Sakura blinked before bursting out laughing "That's what this meeting is about" Sakura fell out of her chair and started rolling around on the ground and Tsunade glared at her in exasperation "Well brat do you have any for us" Tsunade asked again once Sakura had finally calmed down.

"Yes Lady Tsunade I have gifts for you, Shizune, Tonton and even Itachi" Sakura pulled the scrolls out of her pack and handed them over to each person once they had unsealed the items they each stared at her for an explanation 'I feel like I've had to explain everything lately' Sakura thought miserably and then started with Tsunade "That's different flavored Sake from every village I passed through the bottles are indestructable and were hand crafted from someone in the artisans village" Sakura gestured to the odd shaped bottles.

Tsunade was thoroughly impressed the bottles could be used as weapons in self defense if she ever needed them and then gestured at Sakura to begin explaining Shizune's gift "Well I know you like to use poison sometime, so I talked to some people in each village and got a case of every known poison there was and then I made you my own poison" Sakura gestured at the cases and Shizune smiled kindly at the girl "Thank you Sakura-chan" Shizune bowed her head and then waited for the explanation on TonTon's gift.

"It's a new collar and jacket hand crafted out of some of the best materials from the moon village" Sakura explained once again before turning to Itachi who had a blank expression on his face "It's something I always meant to give back to you but I just kept forgetting and putting it off" Sakura frowned and then gestured to the pouches of kunai and shuriken that had his initials engraved on each and a sharigan as the defining mark "Thank you Sakura-san" Itachi's words were thick with emotion, he didn't think he'd ever see this book again but he was proven wrong.

"No, don't thank me I was a horrible teammate to Sasuke and sometimes I wish I could go back in time fix that, but like everyone says there's no use crying over spilt milk, what I can do is look foward to the future and prevent something like that from ever happening again" Sakura gestured to the weapons before Itachi sealed everything back into the scroll "Wise words from a brat" Tsunade teased and Sakura laughed softly "Time away really gives you a new perspective" she stated simply and watched as the others sealed their things away in the scroll.

When she left the office Tonton was decked out in her new jacket and collar and Tsunade was already drinking some of her new sake, Sakura decided to go visit Naruto, she hadn't seen the boy since they came back once she got up the steps to his apartment, Sakura knocked on his door and waited a few minutes later it was opened by Naruto who had sleep mused hair and crust in his eyes "Good morning to you too sunshine" Sakura laughed and walked passed him when all he did was stand there with his eyes shut.

After a few minutes it was clear Naruto wasn't following her so she turned and looked at the boy who still had the door wide open "Naruto are you gonna shut the door" Sakura furrowed her forehead in concern when he didn't respond and then he fell over and she ran over to check Naruto over and then started laughing, Naruto had been sleep walking so she shook him awake and he blinked up at her in confusion "What are you doing here Sakura-chan and why is the door open" Naruto asked when he looked around.

"Why am I in the living room" he questioned trying to remember "You were sleep walking Naruto" Sakura snorted in amusement when Naruto pouted "Come on Naruto, I'll make you breakfast I have some souvenirs for you" Sakura grinned when he jumped up much more awake now "I have something to admit" Naruto frowned and sighed nervously before heading into his room and coming back out with a scroll "It's the tanto sword you bought me, it broke about six months ago" Naruto unsealed the scroll.

Naruto was correct the blade was indeed broken "Jiraiya took us everywhere but nobody could repair it" Naruto sulked, he really liked that sword especially since he now knew how to use it properly "Apparently not everywhere" Sakura sighed and picked it up for inspection there were scratches all over it from use, she was pleased because it meant that Naruto had at least trained with it "Well don't worry about it Naruto" Sakura grinned and he stomped his foot "I really liked that blade" he echoed his earlier thoughts out loud.

"I have a better one for you" Sakura explained and Naruto immediately settled down at the kitchen table waiting for Sakura to finish cooking once they were done eating Naruto quickly washed the dishes and they walked into the small living room to be more comfortable while Naruto looked at his gifts once they sat on the couch Sakura handed over one of the scrolls when Naruto opened it he laughed it was a perfect replica of the broken tanto "This is much stronger" Sakura explained again when he looked at her.

Once he was done inspecting the new blade that had the customary uzumaki symbol and whisper marks along with his full name engraved on the hilt, Sakura handed over the other scroll and started laughing when his jaw dropped at the amount of ramen and ramen related items there were "Gee thanks Sakura-chan" Naruto admitted sheepishly before sealing them back in the scroll "Hey do you think we can go shopping soon, I'm in dire need of some new clothes" Naruto asked.

"Your in luck, Ino and I are going to go shopping here soon so you can tag along" Sakura announced and the blonde nodded there were worse people to go shopping with than two girls but heck he'd take whatever he could get "Later Naruto" Sakura gave him a wave and left his apartment when she walked down the steps she spotted another blue eyed blonde and snuck over to the unassuming man quickly molded some clay she had got from the hidden stone and threw it at him.

"Hey Deidara-san, art is a blast" Sakura laughed when he turned around and looked at the butterfly on the ground "Don't you dare" he narrowed his eyes in panick as she raised her hand and did a hand sign only to sigh in relief when it doesn't explode and then he remembered what Sakura had said "Glad to see you agree with me over puppet boy" he smirked confidently only to sulk "Nope, so not getting involved in that argument your on your own bomb boy" Sakura snickered but handed over two scrolls.

"I picked up some bombing clay for you from the Hidden Stone" Sakura patted him on the back when a wide grin broke out on his face "Thanks yeah" Deidara gave her a wave and continued on his way as she headed towards the Hyuuga compound, she had gifts to give to Hinata, actually she was ready to be finished with handing out gifts but she was only half way finished so the minute she reached the compound she ran up to Hinata who was watching a spar between Hiashi and Neji.

"Oh hello Sakura" Hinata greeted shyly and held out a cup of tea for Sakura to take who quietly sipped on it for a few minutes before setting down the empty cup "I have some gifts to give you" Sakura smiled and when Hinata turned red "Really thats ok Sakura, I don't need anything" the other girl squeaked out in embarrassment and tried to wave Sakura off but Sakura wasn't going to give up "I think you'll like them" Sakura smiled and teasingly waved the scrolls in front of Hinata who eyed them curiously.

"Oh alright" Hinata mumbled shyly and took the scrolls the first one had weapons with her name engraved on each and the hyuuga clan symbol all of the weapons were a lavender color and then Hinata opened up the second scroll only to quickly reseal it in embarrassment "Come on Hinata you like Naruto right" Sakura prodded gently and Hinata nodded with her eyes clenched shut willing the image that she had seen to go away but it was burned into her retina's "Then you have to be more confident" Sakura stated.

"I'm going to teach you how to be more confident" Sakura smiled when Hinata turned a brighter red and almost fainted "Thanks Sakura-chan" Hinata murmured softly "Take care" Sakura gave the girl a wave jumped up and disappeared in a swirl of cherry blossoms the next person on her list was Zetsu and he would be the most difficult of all the ex criminals to locate because of his ability to merge with things and thus Sakura's search began she searched nearly the entire day until finally she spotted the man watching someone on the otherside of a training field.


	11. Seeds for Zetsu and the Move

"Hello Zetsu-san" Sakura greeted and the man jerked his head around to look at her in shock "Hello Sakura-san" both sides of Zetsu greeted, he had been watching over the entire village, it was a mission Tsunade had given him, and because of his special ability to merge with tree's he could look over the entire village, but this girl had actually snuck up on him "I'm sorry Zetsu-san I wasn't aware that I was masking my chakra" Sakura apologized when the man just peered at her warily with his gold eyes.

"Don't worry about it Sakura-san" the white side of Zetsu waved it off while the black side disagreed "You should be more careful" the black side warned and Sakura repressed a shiver of fear but nodded "What brings you all the way over to this side of the village" white Zetsu asked once it was clear Sakura had sought him out "Oh well I have some souvenirs for you" Sakura smiled at Zetsu when he stared at her warily "Souvenirs for me" the black side asked this time and Sakura shook her head.

"For both of you" Sakura stated, this was no weirder than talking to Nagato in Pein's body "You didn't have to" white Zetsu appeared shy at the admittance that the gifts were for both sides of him "Well don't just stand there hand it over" black Zetsu clearly had no problems being demanding and Sakura quickly dug in her pouch for one of the few remaining scrolls and handed it over where both sides of Zetsu quickly unsealed it "What are these" white Zetsu asked holding the packages up for Sakura to see.

"It's seeds from every type of herb imaginable, collected from every single village I passed through, I heard from Konan that you like growing things, so I figured if you had the supplies you could make a green house and grow your plants in it" Sakura mumbled sheepishly when black Zetsu let out a dark chuckle "Thank you Sakura-san" both sides thanked her and then she watched in curiosity as he merged deeper into the tree and then disappeared from sight, Sakura knew he was still around somewhere but it wasn't any of her business.

When Sakura looked up it was later than she thought so she turned around and headed back to the Aburame Compound once again ignoring the whispers and glares she barely resisted the urge to snap at the idiot elders and stomped through the compound to Shibi's office, she couldn't take it much more and she really needed to get out of there at least for the night, getting directions to her house from Shibi, Sakura stalked up the stairs and entered her room yanked out several storage scrolls.

And began going through the painstaking process of sealing her belongings into the scrolls, once she was finished she stuffed them in a bag and sealed that in a scroll, now it was scrolls sealed into scrolls, exited her room turning to shut the door quietly so that she didn't disturb Shino if he was in his room and stalked back down the stares gracefully, Sakura ignored the looks and whispers again on her way out and wandered back into town, she gazed at the map and took off finding her house a few minutes later.

It was nearly in the center of town, the house itself was small and with an excited laugh Sakura walked up the steps and quickly unlocked the door, turning around she set her scroll down on the table that sat next to the door and decided to explore, Sakura found 2 bedrooms, 1 and half bathrooms, the kitchen which was spacious, the living room and an attic which could be turned into anything Sakura wanted it was as she was heading down the hall that connected to the bathroom that she spotted it.

It being a beautiful rug, as Sakura was walking over it though the floorboards creaked so she quickly pulled the rug to the side and found a trap door that led into a tiny basement, Sakura nodded she knew exactly what she was going to do with it and leaped out of the hole quickly latched the trap door and pulled the rug back into its spot and started unsealing her scrolls, Sakura quickly found out that she didn't have enough so when she went on her shopping adventure with Ino and Naruto she would definitely get more.

That night Sakura crawled into her bed in her new house and fell asleep when she woke the next morning Shino was leaning over her a glare in his brown eyes "SO Imouto-chan, you decided to just leave the clan" Shino was outright furious, Shibi and he had gotten the news from one of the elders that Sakura had left without a word to anyone, Shibi he was little reluctant to believe it but Shino wouldn't listen to reason, he had to get the truth from his sister even if he had to shout at her.

"What in the bloody blazes are you talking about" Sakura sat up yawning "Don't lie to me, the elders saw you leave yesterday" Shino spat sending spit flying through the air "Uh, Shino did dad tell you that I was just moving into my new house, it doesn't mean I left the clan" Sakura leveled him with a flat stare and Shino stood back warily, he had done it again, Shino had judged his sister and this time he wasn't sure she would forgive him as easily as she had back when they were children.

"Shino, I love you, your one of my precious people and my brother, but would you please just get out of my house until I cool down" Sakura pointed at the door to her bedroom and he quickly scrambled out, Shino didn't waste any time in leaving the house, Sakura was furious with him, it wasn't like her usual anger this was something entirely different, Sakura didn't have to yell to let anyone know she was pissed when she was at this level of anger a few hours later he came back and sat on her steps.

That's where Sakura found him when she exited her house for the first time that day, sulking on her steps and just looking downright pathetic "Shino" Sakura called softly and his head snapped up to gaze at her warily "I'm not angry anymore" she admitted gave him a side hug, which let him know that everything was ok for the time being, and wandered down the streets into town she had something to do before handing out the last of the souvenirs to Tsume, Kiba and Kakashi she couldn't wait to see their expressions.


	12. Pet Shops and New Troubles

When Sakura walked down the streets leading to shops, something flew at her from one of the alleys and she quickly knocked the person over with a screech, this person turned out to be Konohomaru, who had grown up well over the years "Hello Sakura" he gave her a cheeky smile and she rolled her eyes "How are you Konohamaru" she greeted back after a few minutes "What are you doing" Konohamaru leaned forward as if waiting for a juicy secret "I'm going shopping" Sakura gave the teen a pat on the head and turned around to continue on her way.

"Bah girl stuff" Konohamaru gagged from behind her and quickly ran off to avoid being drug into the shopping trip "Little boys" Sakura snickered, when she had been younger she had, had no problems dragging Shikamaru out shopping with her, even though he would claim it was troublesome, not once had she ever made him carry any of the shopping bags, to which Shikamaru was grateful for even though he would never admit it to her face as she sealed the bags in a storage scroll.

Shaking her head, Sakura entered the pet shop that sold just household pets, and walked over to the ferret display, she giggled at the cuteness of the kits and spotted one yawning on the other side of the case "You like ferrets miss" the shop owner came out when he spotted her staring at the ferrets for longer than what he would consider usual "Yes, they are so adorable" Sakura gave the case a fond smile and turned to face him "I'd like to buy the one over there in the corner" Sakura gestured to the ferret that was stretching and yawning.

"Oh her" the shop owner grimaced at the ferret, Sakura had pointed out "I'm sorry miss but she's been returned twice already, I'm not sure how she would handle it if you brought her back after letting her get attached" the guy rambled out suddenly "Oh she's not for me" Sakura stated in confusion, what on earth was this guy talking about "Then I can't let you buy her" the shop owner remained steadfast against the glare Sakura sent his way "Why on earth not" Sakura placed a hand on her hip and raised a pink eyebrow at him.

"Because she's a misbehaving ferret" he answered simply not wanting to reveal the true reason, his eyes widened a moment later when a voice came from behind him "He's lying pinky" Kisame walked around the man and stood next to her "I know that Kisame-san, and you sir have exactly 2 minutes to give me the real reason why you won't let me buy her" Sakura was getting angry it was clear to everyone in the shop "She's been hurt by both of her previous owners ok now get lost" the shop owner shouted getting irritated.

"If that's all, then I would like to buy her, I can guarantee that she will never be hurt" Sakura gave him a reassuring smile "You should listen to her, pinky here has a way of being persuasive" Kisame gave a chuckle "Alright fine as long as you get the heck out of my shop and never come back in afterwards" the guy shouted again and Sakura frowned "Do you need to be that rude" Kisame jumped to Sakura's defense "Well I wouldn't feel the need to be rude if you guys would stop asking stupid questions" he realized his mistake a moment later.

Shikaku who had been strolling down the streets saw a mass of gathered people in front of the pet store and being a good shinobi decided to go check it out, his ears picked up on a shout the closer he got until he saw the reason for the gathering, Sakura was in the shop and the shop owner was yelling at her, he almost jumped in but Kisame stepped forward, Shikaku had almost left when the guy yelled out again and he groaned, all Shikaku had wanted to do was go on a peaceful walk instead he had to break up an argument.

"Is there a problem" Shikaku announced his presence smoothly and saw Sakura shoot him a grateful smile "Yes this insipid girl won't leave my shop" the shop owner started up again seeing his chance to make him seem the good guy "And what has Sakura-san done to warrant such anger" Shikaku leaned against the doorway "Mhmm thought so" he murmured softly when the other guy went white and nearly collapsed on the spot "I was just trying to buy a ferret" Sakura spoke up.

"How can I be sure that the ferret won't get hurt" the shop owner jumped up again, but his anger fizzled out as fear replaced it "I suggest you stay away from my future daughter in law" Shikaku stopped the guy from nearly knocking Sakura over, he wanted to get to the bottom of this argument quickly so that he could continue on his way "Sakura why are you buying another ferret" Shikaku nudged her gently "For Yoshino-san, I figured that it help Yoshino let go of Sasuke easier" Sakura frowned again.

"There you go, everyone knows my wife would never hurt another living creature" Shikaku glared at the shop owner who quickly stated the price, took the money from Sakura when she handed it over and let her grab the ferret from the case "Thank you Shikaku-san" Sakura flashed him a smile as they walked down the streets to the Nara compound together, Kisame had browsed the shop for a little while before leaving seeing as Shikaku had handled everything once he had showed up.

"Think nothing of it Sakura" Shikaku gave her a smile before opening the door "Yoshino come out here, someone is here to see you" Sakura stifled her laugh when banging commenced and then Yoshino came flying around the corner only to stop in surprise "Sakura" Yoshino blinked in confusion "I saw how reluctant you were to part with Sasuke, so I figured that could be easily by this" Sakura held out a pet carrier when Yoshino gestured for her to open it, Sakura did so with a smile and then let out a soft laughter when Yoshino gasped in awe.

Yoshino carefully took the sleeping kit into her arms "Beautiful" Yoshino whispered stroking the russet colored hair "Have you named her yet Sakura-chan" Yoshino asked after snuggling the kit "I was gonna let you name her" Sakura scratched the back of her head sheepishly "Akako" Yoshino blurted out the name a moment later, and Sakura giggled "It's perfect for her" Sakura handed over a scroll sealed with some things for her, she couldn't help it, ferrets were absolutely adorable "Here this is all stuff for Akako" Sakura admitted when Yoshino stared at her.

"Thank you Sakura" Yoshino was glad that a solution had been given to the problem she had created "No thank you for taking care of Sasuke" Sakura started only to let out a shout as the ferret himself climbed up her back being mindful of his claws and firmly curled himself around Sakura's neck "Why you little brat" Sakura let out a huff trying and failing not to laugh as Sasuke gives her a little hiss and then Sakura realized what she had said "Oh dear lord I'm turning into an adult" Sakura half groaned half laughed.

"Welcome to the joys of adulthood" Yoshino teased before handing over a scroll filled with Sasuke's things "Oh Yoshino-san, I've got Sasuke some new things" Sakura didn't want to sound ungrateful "Really I can keep them then" Yoshino grinned secretly she hadn't wanted to part with the stuff she had bought Sasuke over the years "Yes, now I've got to get Sasuke and Midori settled into their new home so, I'll see you later" Sakura gave both adults a wave and exited the compound heading straight to her house.

Along the way, Midori joined her "Who's the little one" Midori asked resting her blue eyes on the black ball of fur wrapped around her mistresses neck "This is Sasuke, remember I told you about him" Sakura rubbed Midori's nose gently while stroking Sasuke along the back where he let out sounds of happiness "A pleasure to meet you Sasuke" Midori greeted waiting for him to greet her back "Midori, Sasuke can't talk like you, well as far as I know anyway" Sakura laughed when Midori nipped her shoulder for poking fun at her.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura was used to getting nipped somewhere, whenever Midori felt she had teased her a little to much or picked on her unfairly the wolf would give her a nip and then sulk for the better part of an hour before Sakura would undoubtedly give her a treat and all would be right between the two, halfway to her new house Kakashi started silently walking behind her, he thinking she hadn't noticed him and Sakura trying not to burst out laughing as they walked down the street.

When she walked up the steps to her house and unlocked the door, she gestured for Midori to precede her "Would you like to come in senpai" Sakura called over her shoulder, grinning widely as he falters in his steps "Of course Sakura-chan" Kakashi crinkled his eye at her before following her into the house "I thought you lived out at the Aburame Compound" Kakashi looked around noticing that it looked a little empty "Well I asked dad if I could be independent" Sakura grinned and sat down in the kitchen.

"I see" Kakashi peered at her with his lone onyx eye "So, I've heard great things about you from the cloud village" he gave her another smile from behind his mask "Oh what are they saying" Sakura hadn't heard any rumors about herself so she was admittedly confused "Just that you have a medical prowess that equals Lady Tsunade" Kakashi stated bluntly and Sakura turned a bright cherry red "That's not true, yes Cee taught me a little but, I wouldn't go as far as to say I'm on the same level as Lady Tsunade" Sakura squeaked out utterly embarrassed.

"Ok no need to get squeaky" Kakashi teased and chuckled before eyeing Midori warily "So want to tell me what kind of dog that is" this was the real reason Kakashi had followed Sakura "Watch it human, I am no dog" Midori snarled baring her teeth at him "Then what are you" Kakashi as curious "I'm a wolf" Midori stood tall her massive head raised high, her piercing crystal eyes rested on him as she showed off all of her sharp teeth "What kind of wolf" Kakashi persisted "Snow wolf" Midori huffed.

"That's impossible they were all eradicated years ago" Kakashi knew well damn well that there was no snow wolf left alive "Not true, I was a young pup and hid in the snow, I watched my mother get slaughtered in cold blood and my father strung up like a trophy" Midori growled warningly, Kakashi was digging himself into a hole "Do you know who did it" Kakashi prodded "Yes, that damn snake charmer Orochimaru" Midori admitted and all hell broke loose in the kitchen as Sakura seethed.

Every single time someone got hurt or killed it always led to Orochimaru being responsible for it, the rage was to much for her to handle as Sakura's chakra exploded out from her and destroyed her kitchen table "Mistress" Midori called in alarm, she had never witnessed Sakura loose control like this, apparently neither had Kakashi as he stared at his young friend warily and then in the darkest voice either of them had ever heard come from Sakura, she started talking after a few minutes it was clear what she was talking about.

"I swear when I find that damned Orochimaru, I'm going to string him up like a trophy and see how he fucking likes it, and then I'm going to murder him in cold blood like he did to Sasuke, I'm going to take everything from him" Sakura snarled under breath before swaying on her feet and then collapsed in a faint "Sakura" Kakashi gave yell and jumped forward to prevent her head from smashing against the floor, he was unsure if he should take her to the hospital or to Tsunade, Midori made the decision for him.

"Put her in her room, I'm sure Sakura will be fine" Midori tried to assure Kakashi who stood with Sakura in his arms, she lead him through the house and into Sakura's bedroom where Kakashi carefully placed Sakura on the bed, and then went back into the kitchen to clean up the mess, once he was finished, an idea came to him "I'll be back in a little while" Kakashi gave Midori a wave, who let out an irritated huff, and disappeared through the door, exactly 30 minutes later he re-entered the apartment, someone hesitantly following him.

"Come on Tenzou, Sakura's a good friend of mine, I'm sure she won't mind" Kakashi smoothly reassured the brown haired man, just as Sakura trailed out of her bedroom with a groan "Can someone explain to me what I was doing in my bed" she asked a moment later after looking the newcomer over briefly "You fainted mistress" Midori was quick to growl at Sakura and give her wrist a little nip before leaning her massive head on Sakura's shoulder "Why did I faint" Sakura asked again.

"You don't remember" Kakashi peered at her in concern "Uh, last thing I remember is we were sitting at the kitchen table talking and then oh" Sakura jerked her head up as the memory comes to her "Oops" she winced and sat down in one of her kitchen chairs, sulking, now she had to go out and buy a new kitchen table, her shoulders slumped and she completely missed Kakashi nudging Tenzou, who quickly formed a few hand signs, it was wood started forming in front of her that she finally looked up to watch in awe as a new kitchen table was formed.

"Consider it our house warming present" Kakashi teased and Tenzou glared at him "That's not funny senpai" Tenzou sulked when the silver haired man payed no attention to him and instead sat down in one of the 2 remaining chairs "Come on Tenzou come sit" Kakashi gestured to the last chair and he sat down with a sigh "Kakashi-senpai he doesn't have to stay if he doesn't want to" Sakura saw the expression on Tenzou's face and gave him a kind smile "Thank you, but I think I'll stay" Tenzou flashed her a grin.

"So, I admit I've almost forgotten about this but I have some souvenirs for you Kakashi-senpai" Sakura pulled out a scroll and set it before him smiling sheepishly "Oh Sakura-chan you didn't have to" while he was saying this Kakashi was already unsealing the scroll, he blinked at the amount of Icha Icha paradise merchandise there was "Uh Sakura" Kakashi hoped that Sakura hadn't entered any adult store because then he would truly try to murder Hidan "I didn't buy them, Hidan did" Sakura anticipated the question Kakashi wanted to ask her.

"In fact he wouldn't even let me enter the store" Sakura pouted remembering the conversation like it was yesterday "Good" Kakashi gave a silent sigh of relief before spotting the weapons "Hold on what are these" Kakashi held up the scythe like weapon just on a miniature scale, they were black with a silver sheen to them, his name was engraved on one of them along with a signature mark that looked eerily like a scarecrow "Oh I had them crafted in the artisans village" Sakura smiled at him cheekily.

"Can't forget the new gloves senpai" Sakura held out the new black gloves with black armor guard his initials engraved into it along with that signature mark "Thank you Sakura-chan" Kakashi ruffled her short pink locks "Didn't you have long hair a few days ago" he asked when she started acting weird "I'm trying to forget that fact" Sakura let out a sigh and sulked in her seat for a moment before turning her emerald green eyes on Tenzou who felt decidedly uncomfortable under her probing gaze.

"So your with Kakashi-senpai" Sakura inquired innocently and Tenzou spit out his water and started coughing "We are friends, I don't swing that way" Tenzou grimaced and then began his own round of sulking as Kakashi and Sakura started laughing "It was a joke" Sakura smiled cheekily at him "Oh" Tenzou felt pretty embarrassed "I'm sorry I didn't mean to offend you" Sakura apologized a moment later when he didn't say anything "No worries you didn't mean anything by it" Tenzou waved it off and let out his own chuckle.

The two men spent a few more minutes chatting with Sakura only leaving when someone knocked on her door, when she opened it she found Tsume Inuzuka's canine companion "Hello Kuromaru-san" she greeted refraining from reaching out and scratching his ear "Tsume-sama wants to see you" Kuromaru announced his presence there with a nod and so Sakura grabbed up the last 4 scrolls, followed the canine out of her house, turned and locked the door and ran after him heading straight for the Inuzuka compound to see Tsume.


	13. Gifts for the Inuzuka's

"Hello Tsume-san" Sakura greeted when she walked into the Inuzuka compound "I'm glad you could come on such short notice, and I see you've brought Midori" Tsume glanced at the pink haired girl and then at the white wolf standing in her living room "Is this about breeding Midori with Akamaru" Sakura asked and Tsume nodded "Yes, we would like to begin as soon as possible, since the pups would technically be yours, you'll have full control over who gets them" Tsume compromised.

"That's not necessary, Midori knows the importance of this" Sakura gave Midori a pointed glance and the wolf nodded her massive head "Of course Lady Tsume" Midori leaned against Sakura "Well then, whatever pup is the runt of the litter and most likely won't be a companion will be returned to you" Tsume tried for another compromise and Sakura finally nodded accepting the terms "Very well" Sakura gestured for Midori to follow Tsume when the woman shook her head.

"It won't be for a few more weeks" Tsume grinned and then began turning to head somewhere "Oh wait Tsume-san, I've got some souvenirs for you and Kuromaru-san" Sakura trailed off sheepishly when the woman raised an eyebrow at her "A gift for me and Kuromaru" Tsume smiled widely at the girl "Yes" Sakura sat in the chair Tsume gestured at and then handed over the scrolls for Tsume to inspect and then unseal only to blink at the items "This is interesting" Tsume was amazed.

"That's for Kuromaru-san" Sakura smiled at the canine companion who entered the room upon hearing his name it was a new eye patch and stitched around the patch was his name along with Inuzuka marking "Thank you Sakura-san" Kuromaru addressed her for the second time that day and allowed Tsume to replace it with the old one before she opened up the one that was obviously meant for her only to give a bark of laughter "Your something else kid" Tsume stated and applied the new lipstick to her lips.

"It's shades of purple from every different village" Sakura smiled sheepishly, before she left though "Do you know where Kiba and Akamaru are" Sakura just had to ask and Tsume put a hand to her chin and thought for a few moments "I think Kiba said that he was going to take Akamaru out for a day of training somewhere out in the forest" Tsume nodded and Sakura raced off after getting permission to enter the compounds forests to locate Kiba and Akamaru, once she entered the forest though Sakura found out how difficult the unassuming task would be.

It must have been a couple of hours later that she finally stumbled across the two, quite literally, Sakura had been walking and then she was flat on her back as she tripped over Akamaru, who gave her a grumble "Watch it" Akamaru barked unaware that Sakura could actually understand him "Sorry Akamaru, I didn't see you there" Sakura apologized as Kiba jumped down into the clearing "Sakura what are you doing here" he dropped the pile wood and let out a loud whoop when she told him the reason.

"Uh first Kiba, I heard Akamaru speak, like real words you know" Sakura was worried maybe she had been hearing things "That's impossible" Kiba scratched the back of his head "It's not" Midori came through the tree's "As long as she is my life partner, Sakura could probably understand any canine speech, her ears have adjusted" Midori bumped her head against Sakura's back sending her crashing to the forest floor, to which she promptly stood up dusted herself off and gave the wolf a glare "No treats after dinner" Sakura huffed and Midori gave her a growl.

"You can really hear me" Akamaru perked up hearing the conversation "That's right Akamaru" Sakura smiled at least she wasn't going crazy "Oh right I brought back the souvenirs I promised" Sakura gave both Kiba and Akamaru a smile and helped Kiba set up the fire, once it was roaring to Kiba's amazement, Sakura pulled out food storage scrolls and set up some fish it was obvious to her at least that Kiba didn't want to take the time to go hunt up some food since he looked quite excited to see what she had brought back for him.

Once the fish had been eaten, Sakura eyed Midori warily as the wolf gave a sigh and then curled around her, Sakura knew what the wolf was doing but she wouldn't give in, instead she turned around to Kiba and Akamaru and handed over the scrolls "One scroll is for you Kiba, and the other is for you Akamaru" Sakura gave the ecstatic canine a kind smile and waited for the questioning stares that she knew were coming, sure enough the minute Kiba opened his scroll he looked up at her in confusion.

"Are those off white colored kunai with the Inuzuka mark on them" Kiba whistled, even he could appreciate the artwork of these weapons "Yes Kiba, I had those custom made in the village of artisans" Sakura smiled again "Custom made" Kiba blinked and then looked down at the kunai again, he like Akamaru could feel the chakra pouring off the kunai, but he wouldn't tell Sakura that because he didn't want her to freak out "Yep, I helped them out a while back, and I have a contract set up with a friend of mine" Sakura grinned.

"Where all have you been" Kiba asked curiously, the young girl he had disliked from the beginning of their academy days was gone, and in her place was replaced by someone he barely recognized "Can that wait till after you see what I got Akamaru" Sakura quirked an eyebrow and Akamaru let out a howl, which prompted Kiba to unseal the scroll "Treats of every kind from all the places I visited" Sakura shrugged sheepishly and waited for Kiba to spot the brown bandana that the Inuzuka mark on it.

A moment later Akamaru gently grasped the cloth with his teeth and pulled it from the pile, to which Kiba took into his hands feeling the soft quality and the chakra that was pouring off it, this time Kiba couldn't hold back "Sakura did you know that there was chakra infused into these" Kiba held up the kunai and bandana and she nodded "Yes" was the simple statement it also explained how reluctant Sakura was to explain the reasoning behind her chakra being infused with both items.

"You trust the guy who makes the weapons" Kiba stared at her, he could tell she wasn't lying though because his nose would pick up on that "I do, Touga would never betray my trust" Sakura vehemently declared "Then who's chakra is it" Kiba wanted the truth, Sakura hadn't lied but it was clear she was still hiding something from him "It's mine Kiba, there was supposed to be something else with yours but Touga hasn't finished it yet" Sakura let out her shoulders drooped in defeat, if there was one thing she learned it was you never lie to an Inuzuka.

"Oh" Kiba scratched the back of his head in embarrassment "What else did you get me" he narrowed his eyes suspiciously "It was a mesh undershirt and mesh pants infused with my chakra" Sakura "Why your chakra and not mine" Kiba was confused "So that way you'll be protected and not have to waste your chakra getting away" Sakura grimaced, she never wanted what happened to Sasuke, to happen to anyone else that she cared about "Is this about what happened to Sasuke" Kiba aptly guessed when she nodded hesitantly.

"Thanks Sakura" Kiba put his new weapons away and tied the bandana around Akamaru's neck "No problem, so you wanted to hear where all I've been" Sakura teased and Kiba reclined against Akamaru with a nod "Absolutely, it sounds like you've got a lot of stories on hand" Kiba flashed her a toothy grin and threw a couple of sticks on the fire "Ok, now not all of it is going to be rainbows and butterflies" Sakura stated bluntly and Kiba let out a laugh "Nothing ever is" Kiba shook his head in agreement.

"Alright, when Hidan and I left the village we separated from Naruto and Master Jiraiya and headed in the direction of the sand village" Sakura started fondly "When we reached the village, we were lead to the Kazekage's office, we spent six months there" Sakura continued "It was also in the sand village where I gained an appreciation for puppets" she snickered when Kiba eyed her warily "Don't be worried they are back at home" Sakura reassured him "The sand village was where I summoned two different moths" Sakura frowned this time.

"That's the summons you have plume moths" Kiba inquired, the only time Shino really got into the conversation was when it was about Sakura and he often mentioned that she was the mistress over the plume moths "Yes, Kiba" Sakura was honestly surprised before he gestured for her to continue "The first moth I summoned was Tomo, the second was Lilith and that was when Gaara and I were have a little training session" Sakura snickered remembering how easy it was for her to capture the redhead in a genjutsu.

"The third plume moth I ever summoned was Maru, Hidan and Gaara had been captured by some enemies and I went to save them" Sakura sighed remembering the double sacrifice she had done that day on the two idiots that had dared touch some of her precious people "Once we got back, Hidan and I trained every day until we left, by that point we had another person with us" Sakura frowned again, she hadn't seen any of the people that had briefly joined her travels not yet at least and she wondered briefly if they were all out on a mission.

"The three of us traveled to the Hidan cloud village, five days before we got there though, we had to bunker down in an old hut because of a thunder storm" Sakura sighed remembering the days were Kimimaro called her Sakura-sama all the time but they finally came to an understanding a moment later she explained the reason behind her sigh "Seriously, Shino hates it when people call him that" Kiba was rolling around on the ground laughing crazily "Yes" came Sakura's response once Kiba had calmed down.

"Though when we finally reached the village, the guards wouldn't let us pass, even though we had the documentation" Sakura let out her own giggle remembering the argument Hidan had started "I summoned Tomo, who by that point had grown much larger and well I was the one who got us into the village that day" Sakura shrugged snickering once again, the face Hidan had made once he figured out what she had done had so been worth the ass whooping he had given her on the training grounds later that day.

"I'm pretty sure I've been called weird more than I thought possible while we were out there" Sakura shrugged her shoulders and leaned back against Midori who had decided to take a nap "I learned that I have more than two chakra natures" Sakura sulked, and Kiba whistled softly "Geez, aren't you just a little prodigy" he teased "I got taken hostage, one time while were in the cloud village" Sakura breathed out next "I made a deal with this guy named Sakon and he got me out of there" she huffed remembering how rough he had been.

"What happened" Kiba creased his forehead and looked Sakura over "Well the people that took me wanted the passwords into the cloud village, but of course I didn't have them" Sakura shook her head and changed the topic "Well once I had practiced everything I could there so after two months Hidan decided that we needed to move on to a different village" Sakura pouted, she had honestly wanted to stay a bit longer in the cloud village but she knew that they couldn't dawdle not since she had made a promise to get stronger.

"We headed through the grass village, that's where I found Midori here" Sakura gestured at the sleeping wolf "Oh before that though we met up with Naruto and Master Jiraiya again" Sakura laughed softly remembering how she and Naruto had ganged up on Jiraiya "Once I got Midori away from the shop we headed towards the land of iron to meet up with Mifune, he's the head samurai, and he taught me a few sword tricks" Sakura snickered as Kiba laughed "I bet Hidan was a little puzzled" Kiba put his two cents in and Sakura nodded rapidly.

"Completely baffled really" Sakura broke out in a wide grin "Once we got there, Mifune asked me to spar with him, needless to say I kinda caught him off guard" Sakura snorted softly in amusement "After that Midori and I shared our chakra and became life partners" she leaned back and ran a hand down Midori's back, fondness for the snow white wolf clear in her eyes "We trained so hard together" Sakura turned around to stare into the fire, she had been pretty pathetic back then but no more.

"So what can Midori do exactly" Kiba had heard the mutterings between the elders of his clan and his mother about the last of the snow wolves breeding with Akamaru "It means I use snow as my primary jutsu" Midori lifted her head up and peered at Kiba, who unlike most didn't shy away from the probing crystal blue eyes "Wow so how are you the last of the snow wolves" Kiba asked curiously "Nevermind" he stated a moment later with a grimace when he caught sight of the anger in Sakura's eyes.

"You know how we visited the village for a day" Sakura continued on after getting a nod from Kiba "Well when we left, Hidan and I headed straight for Mist Village, of course they had no time to put us up from a couple of months" Sakura shrugged again, it wasn't any of her business "That's where I got almost all of these tattoo's with the exception of two" Sakura showed off the tattoos with confidence Kiba hadn't expected from Sakura "Why so many" Kiba sat up "All of them are for sentimental reasons" Sakura smiled fondly at the tattoos.

"Very curious" Akamaru lifted his head and looked at the few visible tattoos he could see "What do you mean Akamaru" Sakura tilted her head to the side in confusion "Have your teeth been hurting lately" Akamaru looked straight at Sakura when she started shifting uncomfortably "Yes, how did you know Akamaru" Sakura blinked "Your teeth are longer and look much sharper than usual" Akamaru was the one to tilt his head this time as Sakura hurriedly felt her teeth only to wince as her finger was cut on said teeth.

"Midori" Sakura asked the wolf "It has something to do with being companions to each other" Midori answered the unasked question and Sakura nodded "Well there's your answer Akamaru" Sakura grinned showing off her now sharp teeth "So what happened after you got the tattoos" Kiba was eager to get back to the story about all of Sakura's travels it was clear to him that by the look on her face the next part of the story would be amusing "We decided to travel around not entering any village" Sakura started with a long suffering sigh.

"Hidan and I fought bandits here and there, it was after a particularly vicious fight where I got poisoned, that Hidan noticed how much I had been fighting with my hair, no matter what we did it still got in the way" Sakura stood and gestured at how long the hair had been at one point when Kiba asked how long it had been and let out a whistle "How did you fight with that much hair" he asked next and Sakura shrugged "I'm not even sure" she giggled, maybe Hidan had been right she could look back now and remember how silly she had been.

"Anyways he suggested I cut it and so I did only after he pissed me off" Sakura smiled that was also when she had punched Kabuto and knocked him out "Also learned some people have a glass jaw" she snickered and then explained when Kiba once again asked "Once I had calmed down we went to the artisans village and got my cut hair turned into a weapon" Sakura pulled out the scroll to one of her most important weapons and unsealed it so that Kiba could look at it "Wow can you do that with my hair" Kiba teased and Sakura furrowed her forehead in confusion.

"If you had longer hair" Sakura quiped a moment later and the both of them burst out laughing "It took about 3 weeks for Touga to make this and then we left the artisan village" Sakura started up again "We traveled to waterfall village, where I met this girl named Fu, she was absolutely hilarious" Sakura grinned once again remembering all the fun things they had done together "Oh waterfall village is also where I got this tattoo" Sakura showed off the friendship tattoo done in blue ink and Kiba shook his head.

'Well if I ever decide I want to get tattoos, I at least know who to go to' Kiba chuckled to himself before gesturing for Sakura to keep going, he could tell that there was a lot of information being left out to shorten the story but still what he had heard so far was very amusing "Well, I spent about two weeks there and then left" Sakura sighed "Once we left there we travelled all over again visited all but 4 villages and then we headed to the rain village" Sakura groaned remembering how that had started.

"The leader of the village was a little pissed seeing us but he agreed to let us stay for as long as needed, and thus began the start of my very short teaching career" Sakura let out another groan "Wait, what teaching career" Kiba blinked in confusion, he'd never heard of something so ridiculous "Well the rain village didn't have many if any at all medics, so the leader of the village set me up with a group of medic to be's and had me teach them on a two week course" Sakura giggled remembering how she had subtly threatened the entire class with just one lesson.

"Of course after that, the leader decided I needed something more challenging to do so he gave me a position as one of his advisors" Sakura shrugged when Kiba inquired about what it was like "Difficult and so much damn freaking paperwork, it's no wonder the guy was always angry when someone interrupted him" Sakura grimaced, she was at least glad that she didn't have to do that anymore at least for the time being "We had most likely been there for a while, when Asuma-san showed up with Shikamaru, Ino and Chouji" Sakura explained.

"That's not all, the rain village is also where I got the piercings" Sakura gestured to the pieces of metal and then nudged Midori who raised her head and leaned down when Sakura gestured to the earring in her right ear "So I can tell they aren't just ordinary piercings" Kiba leant forward again and waited for the explanation "Your right these are chakra receivers they allow me to connect my chakra to Midori at a certain distance" Sakura lowered her shirt after Kiba had nodded at her explanation.

"Once we left the rain village we visited his old village for a couple of weeks and then we moved onto the last two villages, in which I was immediately sent out on a mission by myself and then trained extremely hard in expanding my chakra reserves" Sakura groaned remembering how tough Han had been on her "Hidan once again said we were leaving and that was that, we re-visited a couple of villages and then we came back home" Sakura finished and Kiba once again whistled in awe.

"Wish I could find someone who would take me and Akamaru out of the village like that" Kiba sulked and then yawned "Well I hope you enjoy your gifts, and once I oh" Sakura looked up as a hawk swooped down and dropped a scroll in her lap holding out his leg which held a money pouch "Just a moment Kiki" Sakura laughed when the hawk screeched at her to hurry, she quickly took out the ryo and placed it in the pouch and took off "This is your mesh clothes" Sakura unsealed the scroll.

"Amazing" Kiba once again whistled in awe seeing the beauty of the mesh shirt and pants and then watched as Sakura gathered chakra in her hand before she could mix her chakra with the mesh "Why is your chakra purple and silver" Kiba had never seen anything like it before "It has more to do with my true origins than anything" Sakura frowned she really didn't want to tell any of her friends about who she really was yet "Oh I understand" Kiba relented and Sakura continued a few moments later she sealed them back in the scroll and handed it over.

"Alright see you Kiba" Sakura stood brushed her clothes off leaped onto Midori's back sat sideways and then disappeared, later that night Shibi and Shino joined her for dinner and then once they headed home she quickly took a shower and then laid down on her bed for the second night in a row, her eyes quickly became heavy and Sakura could no longer keep them open, she briefly wondered what the next couple of years would be like before she drifted off into a deep sleep.


End file.
